1/30/15

I have no idea if this was shot at the beginning or the end of the fishing excursion, but I like to think the fella is tallying up who caught what, the sizes, and information about the ones that got away.

1/29/15

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Have you ever witnessed gulls flying along the stern of a ship? I remember them on the trips to and from Hawaii. They were hoping something worthy would be tossed overboard. In the picture above we can pretty much be assured it was the fish entrails they were waiting for.

There used to be a seafood restaurant I went to that had a dock running alongside it. Fishermen would pull in and unload their catch which would be sold at the seafood market attached to the restaurant. The gulls would show up immediately, as would several seals. So you'd be sitting there eating your meal, an interesting boat would show up and you'd start discussing the name of the boat with your dinner companions, and then all hell would break loose. Buckets of offal would be dumped off the back of the boat into the bay. Oh my but it was a disgusting sight. It was disgusting, but authentic. Sadly the restaurant was torn down and replaced by one only the tourists could love. The dock is gone, as are the fishing boats. The boats now stay on the other side of the bay where the tourists rarely eat. It's all very clean and not the least bit offensive, which is the problem with the place. Now even the food is bland. Tourists come hoping to find a bit of the romance from a famous Hitchcock film, not knowing this is at least the third restaurant to stand in the location with the same name. I never saw the original, but I seriously miss the old one I do remember. And I wish the tourists would just go home.
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1/28/15

Apparently this was the sweet spot aboard the boat for taking photos. "Sit down and smile" might be what Donald Schnabel said to each of his buddies.

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What did they say to Donald when it was his turn?

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I have to tell you that the color in each of the fishing slides has been ugly, very saturated with magenta. I did some quick fixes to make them a bit more acceptable. But you can go ahead and imagine everyone a really nice shade of pink.
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1/23/15

I generally don't post images that are related to my family; I'm a private person. However, the prompt from Sepia Saturday this week was just too easy.

I give you my paternal grandfather in Scotland. I do not know the wee lassie sitting next to him. Perhaps she's family, but I'll never know. I like to imagine it's me sitting there bundled up for a nice ride through the countryside.

Click on image to see it larger.

My grandfather lived a hard life. When he was a teenager he contracted pneumonia and lost the use of one lung. Because of this he did not serve in World War I and my father has always wondered if he was treated badly by others because otherwise he looked to be a very healthy young man. He worked in a steelworks in Scotland before emigrating to California in 1921, first passing through Ellis Island. My grandmother, who had yet to marry, followed in 1922. They lived for the rest of their lives in Northern California. They had one son who is still alive today, my father. A second son died within hours of his birth. The third son, my uncle, died last year.

Of the four grandchildren, I am the only one who knew him. He died before any of my cousins were born. I have few memories of him, but I have rich stories my father has told me.
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1/20/15

It was July 1956 and Donald G. Schnabel was out on the water with some fellas for a day of fishing. The slides say "Greenport Trip" which means nada to me. I have no idea where Greenport is so I did a search and apparently it's on Long Island.

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Too bad the boat isn't named the Minnow. Since none of the gentleman in the photos I'll show over the next week are named, I'll let you decide which one is Gilligan and which one is the Skipper. It's up to you if you want to name one Ginger and another Mary Ann.

1/19/15

There's a story to be told for this photo, I just don't know what it is. A writer alone searching for the great American novel? A former soldier who has returned in hopes of finding a lost love? A spy waiting to make contact with another agent? There are thousands of stories to be told about Paris.

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Of course, he's not really alone, there is a photographer right next to him, but just as when we watch a movie and forget about the entire crew standing there watching, we can often suspend reality when we step into a photo; the photographer doesn't exist, just the person in the shot.
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1/18/15

I generally don't have regrets; I find them pointless and annoying. But I do wish I'd seen the insides of Notre Dame. I still don't know why I never went in. I guess there just wasn't enough time and I had other things to see. I like to tell myself that someday I'll go back and see it, but I know that's probably not true. So I'll leave that as an almost regret in life.

1/17/15

A few more shots of our unknown man in Paris. In the first shot you'll see Donald G. Schnabel on the left. If you don't know Donald's previous photos just do a label search. I have hundreds of slides taken by him and will slowly sort through them. Remember Bahrain? Betty?

1/16/15

In 1956 this unknown gentleman was in Paris having his photo taken by Donald G. Schnabel.

For some of us 1956 is part of our lives, but for most it's ancient history; I still have trouble wrapping my brain around that. My time line reference points are often far different than those I meet. Today I told a young man about a local joint that makes incredible old fashioned milk shakes with real ice cream that's served in the cold metal containers that it was made in. I got back a blank stare. I hit my hand against my head and said, "But of course that means nothing to you." His reference point is a corporate milk shake in a cardboard container, mine is a mom and pop place with a jukebox.

The man in this photo was probably around my current age when this was taken, maybe even younger. Imagine his time line reference points. His memories were colored by two world wars in which Paris played a part. Now here he was walking the streets over 10 years after the last war.

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I didn't get to Paris for another 17 years. Looking at these photos I feel like maybe we shared the same Paris even though time had passed. There's just something about Paris.

And now one of my reference points for Paris.

This is my submission for Sepia Saturday. The only thin connection to the theme is France and not understanding the reference point for the theme photo.
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1/15/15

It was 56 years ago this month that I was on my way to Hawaii aboard a Matson Liner. This little tyke looks about half the age I was and I'm guessing it was in the 1930s. They had either just arrived or were about to set sale for California. If they'd just arrived they would soon be staying at, most likely, the Moana or the Royal Hawaiian.

I remember being covered to my nose with leis, the scent heavenly. And then once at our hotel/apartment we placed them all over the room. They lasted for days and then began to whither and turn brown. No problem. Right outside the front door was a plumeria bush, its scent drifted in through the louvered windows all day and night.

On the other hand, if they were leaving they should have soon be throwing the leis overboard hoping they would float to shore insuring they would again return to Hawaii. Can't do that from a plane. Some of the magic is gone.

1/13/15

My dog of 16 years was put down last fall. He had a brain tumor, and after caring for him for so long it was very hard to lose him. But I now have a puppy who has the nickname Mr. Wiggles. He looks nothing like the Wiggles in this photo, but then I don't look like Edna either.

1/10/15

I remember seeing the preview for Village of the Damned at a drive-in when I was a kid. There I was in the backseat of my folks car in my pjs, trying to stay awake, longing for the trip to the snack bar for the milkshake-in-a-can, when huge glowing eyes appeared on the screen; they were the children in the Village of the Damned. I never saw the movie, but I had nightmares about those kids and those eyes for years. Which brings me to Keane paintings.

As a kid in Hawaii we had a family friend who was a sculptor and he used to take us to different art gallery shows. I have no idea why we ended up at a showing of Keane paintings, but I remember them. Oh boy, do I remember them. Even as a kid I knew what I was looking at was dreadful. I've often thought that we must have gone there as a joke, but the only other person alive who was there with me has no memory of it. For some reason really bad art sticks in my brain, vividly. It's like the time I ended up in a gallery in Carmel of Thomas Kinkade paintings and after a few moments I headed for the door hoping to never see another one of his pieces. Boy was I wrong on both accounts. The public took a liking to Keane and Kinkade. Hucksters, both of them. The images of both have been plastered on everything, everywhere. Sometimes it's like living in the Village of the Damned when you can't find a way to escape all the commercialized schlock.

So here we have two kids standing amongst the posies looking like they'd rather be anywhere than where they are. Subjects for a Keane painting? Living inside the world of a Kinkade painting? Or just kids from the Village of the Damned?

1/8/15

These two could easily have been in a Mickey and Judy movie, clearly exhausted from once again putting on a show. He has a Van Cliburn look because of his hair, but I'm betting that either Glenn Miller or, hopefully, Benny Goodman is coming from that radio on the end table.

1/5/15

Two shots of the same woman cutting cakes in the same year is not something I'd ever found before. So for that reason this woman holds a special place in my heart. Twice in one year someone gave her a cake and took a snapshot of her with each of them. How nice was that? Of course, there are those of you who noticed the nudie calendar in the previous post, and now we have a husband who doesn't even put his drink down while celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary. I'm sure I'm reading way too much into these shots, but I'm guessing that this woman grew used to a certain level of disrespect in her life, and that makes me sad.

1/4/15

Just because I publish a book about one of my collecting categories doesn't mean I don't still keep an eye open for more vintage snapshots to add. A category is never complete, it evolves. So I was happy to find two snapshots of one woman cutting cakes in 1968.

1/2/15

Starting off the new year with a possible time-traveling-celebrity, actor Richard Gere back in the 1940s picking and packing fruit for Del Monte. He's gone to a great deal of effort to hide his visit to the past. He certainly wasn't researching his part in American Gigolo or Pretty Woman. Any idea what role he might have been working on?

On the back of the photo it says, "Summer 1947 Daddy, R. L. and Clings" which sounds like a ruse to me. Yeah, the first letter of the young fellow is "R" which is obviously for Richard. Okay, so I don't know what the "L" stands for, but I'm sure one of you will figure it out. I'm guessing the Clings are nestled gently in the crates. Peaches I say! They're hauling peaches! (Excuse my exuberance, but the thought of summer peaches makes me go a little crazy.)

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They can travel through time, but they can't hide!

Don't forget to do a search of this site for other time-traveling-celebrities. I add them as I find them.
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Search Tattered and Lost

An American Dream at AMAZON

The American dream of owning a home through vintage vernacular photographs. The focus is on the people who lived within the homes as well as the varied architecture from the late 1800s to the 1960s.

FORGOTTEN DOLLS at amazon

A journey via vintage snapshots through the world of dolls and their owners from the early part of the 20th century to the 1960s. This is volume 7 in the Tattered and Lost Vernacular Photography series.

The Quiet Art of Reading at Amazon

Before being overwhelmed by a future of snapshots of people staring at nondescript tablets and smartphones, it would be nice to be reminded of the romance of reading a worn copy of a favorite book in a quiet and comfortable place. The beauty of the act of reading should be celebrated. That is what this book attempts to do.

BUCKAROOS AND BUCKARETTES at Amazon

Tattered and Lost: Buckaroos and Buckarettes is a collection of vintage snapshots for those who remember riding the range when they were kids. These adventures usually consisted of sitting in front of a black and white television or running around the neighborhood with our shiny six-guns strapped to our sides. Our imaginations created entire worlds that never existed. We sang along with our heroes, convinced that with a song in our heart and a six-gun on our hip we could vanquish evil. This book is dedicated to all the other buckaroos and buckarettes who rode their imaginations into the sunset while humming Happy Trails. Buy it at Amazon.

CAKES, PICNICS, AND WATERMELON at Amazon

Collecting vintage photographs starts out innocent enough with a few snapshots here and there, but at some point it becomes a bit more obsessive and you find yourself longing for the next image that makes you laugh or ponder the irrefutable confusion of being human. This book, Tattered and Lost: Cakes, Picnics, and Watermelon, the fourth in a series, shows the quirky world of sharing food from the 1890s to the 1970s in the United States. Sit back and enjoy watching people cut cakes (some people do it with such style!), go on picnics without your relatives, and watch people eat watermelon. Yes, eat watermelon. An odd category for sure, but one sure to make you smile. Buy it at Amazon.

Vernacular Photographs at Amazon

Tattered and Lost: Vernacular Photographs, is volume 1 in my self-published books showing photos from my collection. Photographs play off each other on facing pages asking the viewer to come to their own conclusion as to what they are looking at. Included is a photo of the Pennsylvania Railroad S1 steam locomotive, designed by Raymond Loewy, on display at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. And one of the few known copies of a photo taken by Rudolph D’Heureuse in 1863 proving there were indeed camels used by the U. S. Cavalry is included. So take a step back in time and visit with some folks who long ago smiled and said “cheese” never knowing how long those smiles would last. Buy it at Amazon.

TELLING STORIES at Amazon

In need of writing prompts? Looking for a gift for a friend who loves vintage photographs? Tattered and Lost: Telling Stories is now available from CreateSpace and Amazon. Click on the image to find out more! Buy it at Amazon.

CHILDHOOD at Amazon

A new and expanded edition of Tattered and Lost: Childhood. Available at CreateSpace and Amazon. Better price, more pages, larger trim size. Click on the image to read more about it. Buy it at Amazon.

TRAVELING WITH CHARLIE

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What is Tattered and Lost?

Tattered and Lost is about some of the found and/or vernacular photography in my collection.

Unless you're an incredibly organized person you probably have a few stray photos tucked away that you've forgotten about. No matter how many family members or friends say they love you, sooner or later, a photo of you is going to slip through the cracks and end up in the hands of someone who knows nothing about you. Such are the photos at this site.

THE PHOTOS

Photographs of the ordinary by the ordinary.
All photos are from my private collection. They may NOT be used in any manner without my permission. I retain all copyrights for everything published on this site unless specified as belonging to someone else.